#geared steam locomotive

[identifyingtrainsinposts]

[In order of appearance]

Lima Locomotive Works - C-80-3

Climax Locomotive Works - Class C (70-3)

Lima Locomotive Works - C-70-3, PC-13, C-90-3

Steamy Power Locomotive 🚂

[zeeckz]

Part 1

(x)

[locomotive-idiot]

You have any good videos of coupling rods in motion? They're for.... Ummm... Research purposes? Yeah, research purposes and definitely because they make my brain do the happy chemical as a train autistic myself

alright.

ok so (yt links ahead)

the one valve gear that scratches my brain really good is walschaerts

(221) Walschaerts Valve Gear - Test Animation - YouTube

another great valve gear??? stephensons

(221) Stephenson Valve Gear - Test Animation - YouTube

(like holy shit look at the mechanical stuff going on here)

it was mostly inside frame of old british locomotives (image is an inside frame version) :)

third???

(221) Attempt to do a 3D model of a Gresley valve gear - YouTube have you actually ever seen the fucking mechanical genius that is the gresley valve gear?

and fun fact! this valve gear was not only used on gresley locomotives, it was also used on the UP 9000 class

i would put more here, like baker and the young valve gear

but you gotta search that yourself "definitely also not autistic about trains" :3

[trainsgenderfoxgirl2816]

so i finally animated baker valve gear on the animation of the ECGR class SD17 2-8-2

[identifyingtrainsinposts]

Lima Locomotive Works - C-70-3 (left) & C-150-3 (right) AKA Cass Scenic Railroad No. 4 & 6 Both of these engines are Shays, Geared steam locomotives with several distinct features. They have 2 or 3 pistons (in this case both have 3) mounted vertically on the right side. The boiler is shifted to the left to make room for the pistons. These pistons drive a driveshaft on the outside, which drives the wheels via gears. This design gave you a lot of grip and made the engines pretty light, which was fantastic for small industries like logging and mines, and terrible for the main line due to its low speed.

The fasted a Shay has ever been recorded going is 18 MPH. No. 6 is the largest Shay in existence, and the last one built by Lima.

[whirligig-girl]

(zoom in!)

Two double-headers on the Trans-Gooiw Railroad passing each other in the hills, dragging long freight trains behind them, during the early days of the Pan-Mellanus Oil Crisis.

More mellanoid trains: Guz's Model Garratt | Museum-piece carrying rocket parts | Advanced Steam Tank Engine | Guz's bigger model Garratt | Tram and Coal Mine loco sketches.

The diesel-hydraulic at the front of the foreground consist, already somewhat old and tired by this point, dates back to around the time period that steam engines were originally retired on Mellanus. It's not very fuel efficient as it is, and with the oil rations, diesels can not handle the trains on their own any longer.

For a few years now the railroads have been taking their steam engines out of mothballs and museums, as coal was comparatively dirt-cheap. Still though, the various maintenance and operational complexities of running steam locomotives resulted in a lot of losses for the railroads.

Pictured here behind the diesel is an early attempt at the Advanced Steam Engine concept, modifying a member of a very prolific and successful 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt class with a gas producer combustion system, more modern cylinders and valve gear, and entirely replacing the cab with an electronic control system (with the more diesel-like control stands moved to separate cabs on the tenders). The electronic control scheme allows for the steam engine to be connected to a diesel engine to be run as a multiple unit, cutting down operational costs. However, as a modified prototype, this locomotive lacks some of the other features which exemplified the Advanced Steam era, such as modular ashpans, computerized control, and precision engineering.

On the other track, moving the opposite direction, we see a double header of two steam locomotives, another 2-8-0+0-8-2 loaned from the Slaibsgloth Coal Mine Railroad, and a 2-10-2 'easy' type non-articulated loco leads the train. In this case, there is no electronic connection, so a crew of four mellanoid slimes is necessary to operate the train.

The eagle-eyed railway fans will notice that there are radiators for a dynamic brake on the diesel, yet the diesel is an electric. Diesel-electric dynamic brakes switch the traction motors into generators, and dump the electricity out as waste heat--but there's no traction motors on a hydraulic. So why the radiator fins? There's still a dynamic engine brake on the diesel-hydraulic, so it still needs to be able to dissipate heat, especially on the mountain routes.

WIP images follow:

[linksconverge]

GAME: Spirit Tracks DIRECTORY: Height ref, #character tag

The youngest Royal Engineer New Hyrule has ever granted a graduation to, so he's kind of a prodigy when it comes to steam locomotives. This would be helpful — if only this weird Hyrule had any (he supposes he'll have to make do with these Zonai and Sheikah thingamajigs). Something of a stickler for respecting rules, boundaries, promises, and doing things by the book. The type who has trouble saying 'no'.

WEAPON: Came weaponless in the traditional sense. He's never had a taste for swordfighting despite his natural talent for it, so his sword and shield are usually left back at home with Niko when he's on duty. He brought everything else from his world-saving journey with Zelda though — he likes to handle foes with the whip and bow.

GEAR: Engineer must-haves. In addition to the occupational essentials, his items speak of a surprisingly careful youth. Several maps, a well-thumbed notebook, and two graphite pencils (complete with kneaded eraser) help bolster his memory; regularly washed handkerchiefs are always kept on hand to wipe off sweat, oil, and soot; miscellanea are organised safely in his pouch. Since he came with half his train, he has an emergency tool-chest available for its maintenance.

SKILL: Train engineer. Fully trained, educated, and officially recognised, Linh is an expert on the usage and upkeep of steam locomotives; they've been trying to see if any of their knowledge might apply to Zonai or Sheikah devices as well. The job's demands have also shaped their general conduct, in that they're a great multitasker and pay more attention to detail than their age would suggest.

SKILL: Spirit sight. Perhaps due to his Komo lineage, he can perceive the otherworldly without needing specialised magic or an enchanted item. This includes spirits, deities, auras if they're particularly bright, and right through some veiling spells if he concentrates hard enough.

LANGUAGES & COMMUNICATION: Hearing. He understands Hylian (Modern Syllabary), conversational Anouki and Goron, and limited Komo. Struggles with the Hylian commonly spoken in this Hyrule he's landed in, so he's among the heroes relying on Patches for interpretation at the moment. Non-speaking, he typically uses his era's Hylian Sign Language to communicate.

Has a whistle for train conducting; this is his go-to method for grabbing attention. It's had the unfortunate side effect of encouraging Cori to try stealing it off of him.

Fully literate, so he'll write in his notebook when faced with someone who doesn't know HSL.

KOMO LINEAGE: Born half-Hylian and half-Komo — of whom are a portion of the Indigenous Peoples of New Hyrule. He has smaller ears and more spiritual (rather than magical) ability than the rest of the party because of this. While not a complete stranger to Komo customs or knowledge, he was raised by Niko from a young age, so he's more familiar with Hylian culture.

Named Linh at birth, given "Link" when taken in by Niko due to the language barrier at the time.

PERSONAL TIMELINE: Went through the events of Spirit Tracks when they were eleven-years-old. It's been a year since. Does not go through Hyrule Warriors, only their Zelda does.

NICKNAME ORIGIN: It's just their birth-name. Cori signs this as its meaning ("spirit"); otherwise usually fingerspelled (syllabically, "Li-nn").

[ndcultureis]

neurodivergent culture is watching steam locomotive valve gear spin

.

[sparkarrestor]

Bulleid's Proposed Locomotives

So it turns out Bulleid had so many of his designs dropped for one reason or another, and since I can't stick with a single project for more than a few seconds, I wrote up histories for all of them!

Enjoy the ramblings of a madman who spent a good long while finding free number slots for them.

Southern Railway Warship Class

The Southern Railway was the most financially successful of the "Big Four", but this was largely based on investment in suburban and main line electrification. After the successful introduction of the SR Schools class in 1930, the railway had lagged behind the others in terms of modernizing its aging fleet of steam locomotives, as they were more focused on Electrification. Following the retirement of the general manager of the Southern Railway Sir Herbert Walker and Richard Maunsell the Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) in 1937, their successors considered that the time had come to change this situation. In March 1938 the new general manager Gilbert Szlumper authorized Oliver Bulleid, Maunsell's replacement, to prepare designs for twenty express passenger locomotives. The deteriorating international situation prior to the Second World War was an additional factor in this decision.

Originally, Bulleid had wanted a 4-8-2 Mountain Type, but the Civil Engineering department had resisted this based on size and weight, so a 2-8-2 was chosen instead. Bulleid had worked with Gresley on his P2 2-8-2 express engines, so he already had some background knowledge, especially with the P2’s problems and ideas on how to solve them. Of course, due to the war, they were classified as heavy mixed-traffic engines to get around wartime regulations.

They were built with high-pressure 280 PSI boilers and three 18inx26in cylinders, as well as being the first engines to use Bulleid’s chain-driven valve gear, though the middle cylinder had to be inclined steeply to clear the first driven axle. The boiler was partly welded to save on cost, and the inner firebox was made of steel. The Southern had no facilities to build these boilers, so it was subcontracted to the North British Locomotive Co., as well as Beyer Peacock. They were also fitted with Bulleid’s Air-Smooth Casing. Unlike later designs that utilized this, the casing on the Warships both served their function purpose as labor saving as well as being able to be passed off as some sort of streamlining. How Bulleid got that one through during the war is a mystery! The Warship’s were also the first to use Bulleid’s Firth-Brown Wheels.

10 of these engines were constructed in 1940. More were set to be produced, but once again, the Civil Engineering Department expressed their discomfort at such a large engine running at high speeds with only a single pony-truck in front, despite other engines of a similar design getting on fine elsewhere. This would lead Bulleid to designing and building 30 of his well-known Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2s. 

They were named after Warships as a way to increase morale, with 11D1 being officially named “Dreadnought” in April 1940. They performed well in service, hauling heavy passenger and express goods, though the Chain-Driven valve gear was sensitive and required high maintenance, as well as the oil-bath having leaking problems, contributing to wheel-slips(Though the extra wheel helped negate this as well). The casing, while it did save on labor during cleaning, and the more streamlined appearance helped with publicity, it made maintenance hard to carry out. Surprisingly, thanks to their different front ends, they never really experienced drifting smoke like Bulleid’s Pacifics.

All 10 of the engines would be passed into British Railways, numbered 37001-37010, where their duties mostly stayed the same. 11D8 “Black Charles'' took part in the 1948 locomotive exchange trials, where it was compared to LMS Duchess pacifics and LNER A4’s and A2/2s, where it performed favorably, though the chain driven valve gear and its oil bath still caused headaches. After the Crewkerne incident, BR chose a rebuilding program of any engines that still used Bulleid’s Chain Driven motion, however, as the Warships had required far less modifications that the Pacifics, they were on the bottom of the list in the rebuilding program. In the end, only 37003 “Triumph”, 37009 “Warspite”, and 37010 “Exeter” were rebuilt in 1956, 1957, and 1959.

Despite their status as a class with very few engines, all ten would survive until the end of southern steam, going between 1965-1966.

Two are preserved, both being rescued from Barry Scrapyard in Wales. These examples are Class Pioneer 11D1 “Dreadnought”, as well as 11D3 “Triumph”.

Stats

Power Classification - 8MT

Built - 1940 to 1941

Boiler Pressure - 280 PSI

Cylinders (3) - 18in x 26in

Wheels (Driven) - 6ft 2in

Wheels (Leading) - 3ft 1in

Wheels (Trailing) - 3ft 7in

Wheels (Tender) 3ft 7in

Tractive Effort - 40,640 lbf

Total Length - 74ft 8in

Fleet

11D1 (37001) - Dreadnought

11D2 (37002) - Anson

11D3 (37003) - Triumph

11D4 (37004) - Vanguard

11D5 (37005) - Ark Royal

11D6 (37006) - Audacity 

11D7 (37007) - Valiant

11D8 (37008) - Black Charles

11D9 (37009) - Warspite

11D10 (37010) - Exeter

Southern Railway Prototype Light Pacific

(Pic by Sttophat on twitter)

     In 1941, Bulleid had introduced his Warship Mikado's and Merchant Navy Pacific's to become the main motive power for the Southern Railway’s Express passenger trains, though while they performed well, they were restricted by their weight, especially since the condition of the rails were hampered by the Second World War. Initially, trains on the lighter sections were handled by the Q1 0-6-0 freight engines and other, older engines, but they couldn’t handle the faster trains that were anticipated after the war. There was also the planned electrification of certain areas after the war, so the new design also needed to handle freight traffic as well, fast enough to not impede electric services.

     What was decided on in the end was a downsized version of the Merchant Navy’s, fitted with the same design theory of the Q1’s to create a “Light Pacific”. The Locomotive was completed in 1942 alongside the Q1’s, and was trialed for a short time before entering service. It was deemed a success, and numbered 21C201. It was powerful enough to handle fast, heavy trains, as well as having an extremely light axle loading for a pacific at 16.5 Tons, enabling it to be used on almost every part of the UK Network as a whole. However, Bulleid decided to go with a different approach, creating simply a downsized Merchant Navy with no Q1 elements. This would increase the axle load, though this wasn’t much of an issue, as the Battle of Britain and West Country Class Light Pacifics still had a high enough route availability for the work they were assigned. Thus, the “Q1 Light Pacific'' would remain a one-off.

     During the war, No.21C201 would actually travel a fair amount, and would regularly venture out of Southern territory, its light axle-load coming in handy. After the war however, it would mostly stay in the South. Performance-wise, it seemed to inherit all of the good qualities from the Q1’s and the pacific’s. The light-weight was already a plus, coupled with a great, free-steaming boiler and additions that made the driver and fireman’s life easier. However, it also inherited the bad aspects as well. The chain-driven valve gear was a well-known headache on bulleid locomotives, but there was also the issue that its light-weight caused. The regular Light Pacifics had trouble starting heavy trains thanks to their weight, but No.21C201 had it worse, especially with the well-known issues with the oil bath the valve gear was situated in. The light weight would also affect braking power as well, making unfitted trains harder to stop, a trait inherited from the Q1’s.

     No.21C201 (Now Renumbered 34000) was not considered for rebuilding like the other Bulleid Pacifics due to its one-off status. It would be given a general repair in 1960 before spending the rest of its life at Nine-Elms, mainly working express and semi-fast goods trains and the occasional passenger turn during peak period and summer excursions. It was withdrawn from service in 1966 and broken up at Eastleigh. 

Stats

Power Classification - 6MT

Built - 1942

Wheels (Driven) - 6ft 2in

Wheels (Leading) 3ft 1in

Wheels (Trailing) - 3ft 7in

Wheels (Tender) - 3ft 7in

Boiler Pressure - 250 psi

Cylinders (3) - 16.5in x 24in

Tractive Effort - 28,145lbf

Total Built - 1

Southern Railway L1 Class

Bulleid designed these locomotives during the Second World War, but construction didn’t begin until 1946. They shared many components with Bulleid’s Q1 0-6-0 goods engines, and were essentially the Q1’s with an Air-Smoothed Casing and a bigger boiler (though the firebox was identical with that of a Q1’s).

Twelve of these engines would be constructed between 1946 and 1948, with the final 3 being built by British Railways. They were originally numbered 22C1 to 22C12, though they were renumbered in 1949 to 36101 to 36112. They were originally meant for short distance goods and passenger services, though they never really found their footing in this role. The passenger trains that usually necessitated big tank engines were already being handled by electric engines, and everything else usually required smaller and lighter engines, which meant that, despite inheriting the power and efficiency of the Q1, the added weight and size meant that they were barred from where they could be most effective. The goods work they were meant for were also in the care of both Q1’s and Maunsell’s Q Class, as well as the many N class moguls already in service. In the end they spent their time hopping from shed-to-shed before settling on ex-LSWR territory, and even venturing into Western Region territory.

They were withdrawn between 1962-1964. Only one survives, 22C9 (36109) on the Bluebell Railway.

Stats

Power Classification - 5F 4P

Built - 1946 to 1948

Boiler Pressure - 230 PSI

Cylinders (2) - 19in x 26in

Wheels (Driven) - 5ft 1in

Wheels (Bogies) - 3ft 1in

Tractive Effort - 30,080 lbf

Southern Railway Dock Class

After the Second World War, many of the Southern Railway’s shunters (mainly those at Southampton) inherited from pre-grouping companies were worn out and needed overhauling. As such, Bulleid opted to replace them outright with his own design of 0-6-0T, with a short wheelbase of 10 feet to enable it to negotiate the tight curves. Like many of Bulleid’s designs, he equipped it with a relatively high boiler pressure.

Six would enter service in 1946, and while a total of 18 were planned, this would never come to be, as Eastleigh works was not in a position to build new locomotives with the backlog from the war. In the end, the southern found it cheaper to purchase ex-USATC S100 dock shunters, as they fulfilled most of the requirements needed.

They were numbered C201 to C206, and were renumbered to 30071 to 30076 in British Railways days. The first, 30071, was built with the Idaglass boiler lagging and casing as used in the Q1 class, while the other 5 were built with conventional boiler lagging and tanks. 30071 would be rebuilt like the others in 1953.

The class would lead uninteresting lives as dock shunters in Southampton and Dover until their withdrawal between 1961-1962. One was initially purchased for preservation but the deal fell through. None are preserved.

Stats

Power Classification - 3F

Built - 1946

Boiler Pressure - 220 PSI

Cylinders (2) - 16in x 24in

Wheels (Driven) - 4ft 6in

Tractive Effort - 21,276 lbf

[hazel-of-sodor]

Day 16-Friends

Day 16-Golden

Other Stories

Other Days

Percy had just woke up when Cassandra snuck back into the sheds. The sidetank was clearly exhausted, the pouring rain slowly washing away soot and grime. She puffed laboriously as she reversed into the shed, clearly running on fumes more than any real head of steam. 

He winced as she stopped next to him in her berth, her face looking little better than her paint. The cleaners quickly set about her with military precision.

“Morning,” she yawned, stretching her valve gear with a creak.

“Morning Cassandra,” he responded quietly, “successful night?”

She nodded blearily, “Caronia has them, they're safe now.”

‘ah.’ Percy thought, ‘she sent this batch to America.’

Cassandra yawned again, clearly struggling to stay awake.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked, concerned.

“I'm fine.” Cassandra reassured, even as he could see her struggling to keep her eyes open, “I just didn't get any sleep.”

Percy narrowed his eyes, “And when did you last sleep?”

Cassandra wearily considered the question, “...the night I was kept at Knapford.”

“That was four days ago!?” Percy squawked.

 “Probably.” Cassandra said carelessly, closing her eyes.

The saddletank stared at his friend, “You need to sleep!”

The No.1 cracked an eye open irritably, “My next train is in thirty minutes, I’ll sleep tonight.”

“You can't haul a train like this!” Percy said aghast.

Cassandra signed in frustration, turning to glare at him, “and when it's asked why I'm not hauling my train?”

“Well I…”

“And the Other Railway's inspector realizes I've not slept in days and asks why?”

Cassandra's eyes swirled gold with her frustration. “No. I will haul my trains, my crew will see me through the day until I can sleep tonight.”

Percy shared a worried glance with Toby, who had woken during the conversation.

“Now if you excuse me,” Cassandra said firmly, “I have a train to arrange.”

“I’ll shunt it for you,” Percy volunteered, thinking quickly, “that way you can rest till its time for the train.”

Cassandra paused, “thank you.” She said, smiling tiredly but genuine.

She closed her eyes, clearly intending to nap for what little time she had.

Percy's driver looked towards him consideringly. Percy nodded. His driver nodded back and patted his bufferbeam. Percy started quietly, rolling forward quietly, his crew discreetly bracing themselves as he approached the points to the shed.

The tracks were well laid, and properly secured to North Western Standard. It didn't matter.

As Percy crossed the points he yanked left with all of his might. No matter how well secured, the rails could not fight the full might of a locomotive, and they separated from the sleepers with an ear piercing shriek as Percy fell between the rails with a booming thud, making sure to keep his wheels turning just a second too long.

The sudden silence afterward was deafening as the yard crews stared at Percy, sitting lopsidedly in a cloud of dust where the points used to sit

Percy could feel Cassandra staring wide eyed at him. He glanced down at his handiwork, and couldn't hide the smirk as he realized it would take several hours to repair the points after he had been removed.

“Oops.” He said.

[blaze-aus-steam-lover]

South Australian Railways 620 class

South Australian Railways 620 Class Locomotive No. 620 "Sir Winston Dugan", builders photograph c.1936 Colourised be me : r/trains (reddit.com)

The South Australian Railways 620 class was a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotives operated by the South Australian Railways (SAR). built by the Islington Railway Workshops from 1936 to 1938. Fred Shea, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the SAR designed a 140-long-ton (157-short-ton; 142 t) Pacific type. A notable feature of the design, unique to South Australian Railways, was the use of Baker valve gear instead of the more commonly used Walschaerts valve gear. 

The class was made up of 10 locomotives, the first locomotive being built in 1936 at the Islington Railway Workshops, with the last being completed in 1938. Number 620, named Sir Winston Dugan, was Australia's first streamlined locomotive, the smokebox was covered with a chromed steel grille similar to those fitted to cars of the period, painted in resplendent Hawthorn Green and Silver. The press of the time described Sir Winston Dugan appearance as 'a bit of fluff'. The remainder of the class was not streamlined.

South Australian Railways 620 class number 621 is observed at Victor Harbor in its new black with red lining paint job, prior to this it had spent 50 or so years in green with yellow lining. : r/trains (reddit.com)

The 620 class replaced the Q and S classes on branch line services, where they proved successful. With the introduction of the more powerful and modern 520 class from 1943, the class was moved to the Willunga, Bridgewater and Tailem Bend passenger services and continued services on Murray Mallee line services. The classes light axle loading provided good route ability and the get up and go characteristics commonly found in large wheeled Pacific type locomotives.

Undergoing Her 12 Year Inspection : r/trains (reddit.com)

The 620 class was phased out in of service in Favour of the Bluebird railcars, although number of railcar failures from 1954 to 1955 saw the class return to service on the Port Pirie line. All of the class were withdrawn between 1964 and 1969. Two of the class have been preserved: No.621 named the Duke of Edinburgh by SteamRanger and No.624 by the National Railway Museum, Port Adelaide.

Locomotive 624 - National Railway Museum (nrm.org.au)

Our Locomotive Fleet – SteamRanger Heritage Railway

videos of the class running:

620 Class Locomotives, Part 3: 621 and 624 Tours to Willunga - YouTube

Ex-SAR Class 620 -621 "Duke of Edinburgh" : r/trains (reddit.com)

Heritage Steam Locomotive SAR 621 Duke Of Edinburgh works upgrade in the Adelaide Hills 2/10/22 (youtube.com)

[guerrerense]

Going full-bore por Kevin Madore Por Flickr: Just moments after leaving the platform at Marshfield Station, the Mt. Washington Cog Raiiway's noontime steam trip is going full-bore up the steep grade above the Ammonoosuc River Bridge. The fireman has the locomotive at maximum working pressure, as evidenced by the plume from the safety valve atop the steam dome. Just aft of the steam dome, another billowing plume can be seen from the locomotive's side-stack exhaust. These little cog locomotives don't have conventional valve gear, so once the locomotive is up to speed, there's no way for the engineer to adjust the cut-off, meaning that back-pressure from exhaust steam being pushed out of the cylinders is beginning to make it difficult for the engine to produce maximum power. On these engines, that problem is alleviated by giving some of that steam another way to escape the cylinders, by diverting exhaust steam away from the pipes to the smokebox and out through a dedicated exhaust pipe above the cab. This diversion process is called side-stack, and the exhaust pipe is known as a side-stack exhaust.

[boxturret]

Steamboy Legoes

I think it just so happened Steamboy came in to my life right when Bionicles started to get bad, so around that time I made a lot of M.O.C.¹s based on the various machines from the film.

Since most of my legoes at that point were, in fact, Bionicles, I didn't have all that many parts to work with, so many of my builds were quite unorthodox. There's not going to be much S.N.O.T.², short for Studs Not On Top³, here. Also legoes aren't some holy relic that must be treasured above all else, so I cut, glued, and stuck paper on things as I saw fit⁴.

I also wasn't very good at taking photos that were in focus, so you've been warned.

Steam Automotive

This, being the first big crazy machine you see in the movie, it leaves a big impression. Its scene and music are also amazing so that helps.

I made this thing so many times. The gearing on the front wheels was always such a big thing for me, the fact that for it to move forward the larger gear had to rotate backwards was really eye opening for me at the time.

I was really quite inspired by seeing someone else's build of it, it was motorised and ran on tracks and had the monowheel on a rod in front of it. It was really cool, so much so that I'll forgive the fact that when the Steam Automotive was on the tracks it was in front of the mono wheel. I can't find it anymore, I swear there was more Steamboy stuff on Brickshelf at one point.

The way the machine has two drivers, a guy in the back in a more standard locomotive cab and then this guy in a tiny chair in front of the weird vertical second boiler/smoke box(?) with a head on it, its so interesting.

Honestly over this period the legoes I had was pretty consistent, but as I studied the reference materials I had closer and got a more complete idea of how everything went together my approaches changed a lot.

This was the last version I made, and probably the last M.O.C.¹ I made in general. It has a really different structure to the others, but some things have been retained. Sliding tires over 2x2 bricks and technic bushings to make tubes is a pretty good technique I think. Probably heretical in the church of lego purity though.

This model was kept together over my dark ages⁵, if you can call the period of time between when the legoes go in the attic to when they go on ebay that. I did think about keeping it, but there were too many parts from bigger sets in there, and I needed money to buy Rahi.

Note how by this point I'd just completely given up on miniature figures. They're just...so ugly lol, catering builds to fit those blocky awkward giants in was just not fun.

Most of the other builds are all one-offs after this point.

Steam Castle

Except this one. I tried a couple times to give it more texture, but it was hard at the scale. Not really notable at all. Basically only made it because I had enough black connectors to make a circle.

Return of the Steam Automotive

It happened again.

This was basically made right after I watched the movie from memory, so that's why all the colours are off. The gears still work!

And I took a second crack at it. its such a pleasing design.

Aero Corps.

Structure wise this one is really accurate lol, but trying to fit it with a miniature figure just doesn't' work. I was really happy with the custom wings.

Aqua Corps.

I was really happy with the arms. I bet its illegal, but who cares lol, it works. Never even tried to fit a man in this.

Blimp

This was the biggest thing I made, and thus suffered the most from my lack of parts. It should be noted that the bulk of this stuff was built at once, even though I never took a group shot.

I had one wright flyer set and that's where all the tan panels for the tiny fraction of the air sack came from, the curve was just some click hinges but the panels were so heavy they had to be held held up with strings.

The biggest problem was always things with multiple identical components. It was a stretch to make the 6 fingers of this crab thing even with such a simple construction.

Legged Tank and Steam Trooper

I love this tank that appears in like 3 shots and in 1 is getting blown up and in another is dead. Why didn't I use a minifig for the steam trooper? I hear you ask, well, the backpack was more important for me, and I couldn't have a breast plate and a backpack without a major headache.

The linkages don't really do anything productive, except make it hard to rebuild the boxor in 12 years. But they looked cool.

This one really benefitted from me getting the collector's edition of the movie that came with a booklet that featured some concept art and renders. You barely see this thing in the movie, and certainly not from the back.

Flying Machine

I call this one the "I saw someone make this on brickset using revolvers and it looked really good, but all I have are brown muskets because my lego collection is a couple pirate sets from before I was born, bionicles, and the wright flyer".

British Tank

This was the second version, the earlier one was too bad even for me.

I didn't have the stuff to make custom treads so instead I just used the giant chain from the wright flyer and faked the thickness lol. I think that's a pretty good Union Jack for being done freehand on a tiny flat tile with some not very fine tipped sharpies.

Yes the boiler was held together with rubber bands why wouldn't it be.

Say hello to Mr. "Everyone in this movie has a moustache because its 1866 but I only have one miniature figure head with a moustache".

I was quite taken with how the gun was a separate unit that could be detached.

Monocycle

Ray's a part of it, it can't stay together without him. Its all just wedged in there. I got some very used lego once that had some parts of an old police station from the 80s in it, and some of the pieces weren't even broken! So I managed to salvage the back half of a bike from there.

I also made Edward.

Since I didn't have any brown sharpies I just stuck on some paper coloured brown with a marker. At some point I found that the glue I was using to stick the papers on also could rub the prints off so that was cool, saved sanding. Very few miniature figures from my childhood remained.

And this concludes a short look at my dark past. If for some reason you want to see more, there's some more photos of the older ones can be found on this brickshelf.

I wrote a big post about Steamboy over here, if this didn't scare you away.

Notes ¹Short for "My Own Creation". ²Short for "Studs Not On Top"³. ³Often abbreviated as S.N.O.T.². ⁴If the sight of such things disturbs you please leave the post now. ⁵Fans of legoes liken the part of their life when they aren't buying legoes to a period of scientific and cultural stagnation.

[peachypede]

Train-Themed Names For Submas Fankids

A list of names I made at 3 am instead of sleeping because I kept thinking how most people go with just I or E names that sound like Ingo and Emmet’s names instead of other train terminology names that the guys might like for their kids.

If you guys have any suggestions, please send them my way! Feel free to use these names for any submas fankids you create ❤️

Annett

- After Annett’s Key, which locks levers and other signaling apparatus for railways. (Also sounds similar to Emmet without being a random E name. )

Axle

- After an Axlebox, which holds axle bearings on a rail vehicle.

Fairlie

- a type of articulated locomotive

Garatt

- a type of steam locomotive (could be paired with Annette to make cute fraternal twin pair names)

Gauge

- The width between the inner faces of the rails. (Axle and Gauge would be a good pair of names for twin boys. Just strong and cool sounding)

Hudson

- a type of steam locomotive

Monty

- after Beaumont hill, a scenic train route in California

Otto

- After Otto Kuhler, Industrial designer who modernized the American railroads

Pennsy

- abbreviation for Pennsylvania railroad

Rosie

- reference to Thomas and Friends but also a reference to Leah Rosenfeld, a railroad telegrapher who’s 1968 lawsuit helped end job and wage discrimination against woman in the industry, equalizing opportunities for women in railroad work

Shay

- a type of geared steam locomotive

Thomas

-…I don’t think I have to explain this one lol. Any other names from Thomas the Train apply as well.



[1863-project]

As a Guy who Fixes Machines for a living, but unfortunately doesn't have Much experience with engines, *but* has read a Ton about them: please tell me about steam engines and/or their Repair Quirks and Logistics. Infodump Away :chinhands:

I'm going to be honest with you - this is one of the most flattering asks I've ever received in my 14+ years on this website.

Steam locomotives seem pretty overwhelming at first because, as you'd expect, there's a lot of moving parts, and they're actually huge. Like many large animals, people often don't realize how big they can actually get until they're in the presence of one. The one I drove, Strasburg #90, weighs in at 212,000 lbs - and she's smaller than a lot of the active steam locomotives operating today. 106 tons is nothing to sneeze at, and she's still considered smaller.

You probably don't need this in layman's terms, but I'm going to try to keep the explanations easy to understand in case anyone who doesn't work with machines reads this.

How do the beasts run?

Continuing the metaphor of these things basically being really large animals, you have to feed and water them. Early steam locomotives ran on wood, but as time went on the most common fuels became coal and oil, and today some can even run clean on vegetable oil or torrefied biomass. The fact that they need to be fed and watered fairly regularly is why there's always at least two people in the locomotive cab - you've got an engineer driving and a fireman keeping the beast fed and monitoring the water levels in the boiler.

This is a diagram of a fire tube boiler from Wikipedia. Steam locomotives generally use this type of boiler, which gives them their familiar shape. The fuel is thrown into the firebox on the left of the diagram, and the heat from the fire flows up to the tubes in the boiler. The water in the boiler becomes steam (specifically what's called "wet steam" because it's saturated). The steam rises to the highest point in the boiler, the steam dome at the top. From here, the steam is sent down into a superheater, which dries it out and produces superheated steam, and that's what's directed down to the cylinders to get everything moving. The smokestack on the right of the diagram is where the exhaust gasses are released, giving off that plume of smoke everyone expects to see.

Now that the steam is at the cylinders, the pistons can start pumping and moving the driving rods on the driving wheels (the big ones). Here's an animated gif of that process, again from Wikipedia.

At this point, it's basically like any other engine with pistons - the pistons get pumping and the machine starts operating. This whole section of the locomotive is referred to as the running gear, and includes the valve gear, connecting rods, brake gear, wheelsets, axleboxes, and springing.

Essentially, it's a steam engine with wheels that is capable of pulling incredible amounts of weight if everything is done correctly. Your average steam locomotive is still stronger than your average diesel or electric locomotive is. Depending on what you needed your steam locomotive to do, the size of the driving wheels would differ - locomotives built for high speed tend to have really large drive wheels, whilst locomotives designed to go slower but pull more weight have smaller drivers for better adhesion and traction.

Maintenance?

As expected, since they have a lot of moving parts, steam locomotives need a lot of active maintenance. They're checked frequently, have mandated annual inspections, and are required by the Federal Railroad Administration in the United States to have a more thorough inspection every 1,472 days of active service - so it's basically 15 years or 1,472 days of operation, whichever comes first. 90, the locomotive I drove at Strasburg, is currently undergoing her 1,472-day inspection as I write this post and she'll hopefully be back in operation for her 100th birthday next year.

One of the things that's unique about steam locomotive maintenance is that the boiler regularly has to be cleaned out, which is why the boilerplate on the front has hinges - that thing's a door! This job was more dangerous historically because boilers were often insulated with asbestos, but pretty much anything operating today has had any asbestos removed or wasn't built with it in the first place. This website has a really good explanation of the process of cleaning out and fixing up a locomotive boiler for a 1,472 day inspection, complete with photos!

In terms of steam locomotive shops, I'm biased towards Strasburg because I grew up going there all the time, but they really do perform incredible work. Late last year, one of their locomotives, #475, had a run-in with a crane left on the track due to a misthrown switch, and her smokebox took some damage. Fortunately, the damage was minor, and they were able to get her repaired in a mere 96 hours.

She now looks like this:

They opted to braze weld her and didn't smooth it out as a reminder to crews to stay vigilant, so she now has some really cool battle scars.

I'm not as well-versed in repair since I don't have hands-on experience with it (yet), but once I can start volunteering I'll hopefully have some more stuff to talk about since I'm hoping to learn to work with these machines more closely! (And drive. Drive all the time. Drive forever.)

[whirligig-girl]

a thought occurred to me (that i shall now tell to you, my friend Callisto, who i am currently writing to in my discord DMs) If Henry's a 4-6-0, i think it makes a lot more thermodynamic sense than if he's a 4-6-2.

imagine if you wanted to make a more powerful Atlantic. (without sacrificing speed) ultimately you're going to need either more cylinders, or larger cylinders or both. but more tractive effort means less factor of adhesion. no use getting more tractive effort if you're slipping. So you add the extra drive wheel in place of the trailing wheel. this design now has three, larger cylinders. More tractive effort, and a relatively similar footprint. You will need a conjugated valve gear or at the very least three sets of walschearts valve gears, rather than internal stephenson valve gear. But the frames and boiler can be nearly unmodified. unfortunately after some analysis you, Sir Nigel Gresley, realize it's never going to work. There's just not enough fire grate area and you use steam faster than you can build it. You're going to need to start from scratch with a new boiler. That second plan is the first version of the A0 prototype, Gordon, which as we know is thought to have been refined into more or less mechanically identical to the production A1 class. but the first plans, discarded, were built as Henry. Henry should have same tractive effort and top speed, or nearly so, as Gordon, but without the boiler volume or fire grate area to match.

in theory running him as if he had indeed been an Atlantic--just as fast but with a shorter, lighter train--should have worked. But that's when we get into the other mechanical issues that resulted from being a… "bastard." I wouldn't be surprised if, at least before repairs were undertaken, Henry's boiler had to be de-rated to a lower pressure to avoid leaks (or worse). Lower pressure means not just less power, but less efficiency too. the Ivatt Atlantics and the Gresley A1 Pacifics had similar boiler pressures of 170 and 180 PSI respectively. (the A3s were uprated to 220 PSI; but Gordon probably never was since i believe his post rebuild boiler is his original boiler.)

Cylinders Two, outside (Majority), Four (2 outside + 2 inside) on No. 3292 Compound & 3279

WHAT

a C1 Atlantic was fitted with four cylinders????

No. 292, built at Doncaster in 1904 (but not entering service until 1905), was a four-cylinder compound. The high-pressure cylinders, having a diameter of 13 in (330 mm) and a stroke of 20 in (510 mm), were outside the frames, driving the rear coupled wheels; and the low-pressure cylinders, 16 by 26 in (410 by 660 mm) were inside, driving the front coupled axle. The valves were arranged so that the locomotive could work either as a compound or as a four-cylinder simple. The boiler pressure was 200 lbf/in2 (1,400 kPa), but whilst the boiler was under repair, the locomotive used a 175 lbf/in2 (1,210 kPa) boiler from 1910 to 1912. This locomotive was withdrawn in 1927 and scrapped in 1928.[9]

No. 1300, another four-cylinder compound, was an experimental locomotive which differed greatly from all of the others. It was built by Vulcan Foundry in 1905, largely to their own design although to Ivatt's specifications. The boiler had a narrow firebox, a diameter of 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) and a pressure of 200 lbf/in2 (1,400 kPa). As with No. 292, the high-pressure cylinders were outside, driving the rear coupled wheels, whilst the low-pressure cylinders were inside, driving the front coupled axle; but their dimensions were 14 by 26 in (360 by 660 mm) and 23 by 26 in (580 by 660 mm) respectively. The engine worked as a two-cylinder simple on starting, changing over to compound expansion automatically. A superheater was fitted in 1914, and the engine was rebuilt as a two-cylinder simple in 1917; the new cylinders were outside, 20 by 26 in (510 by 660 mm) of the type used on class H3, driving the leading coupled wheels. It was withdrawn in 1924.[10] the cylinder diameters varied wildly on the C1s too

a compound loco would have superior efficiency. a simple loco with four cylinders on the other hand would chew through steam twice as fast. idk… idk… a 4-6-0 Henry with an atlantic boiler might not be possible

i mean the whole point of an atlantic is it's a 4-4-0 with a bigger firebox there were small boiler atlantics like this that could accomodate a third driver

but the outline of this engine is definitely more like James than Henry god and like. even this engine, with a much smaller firebox and boiler than the large boiler C1s, still has the same cylinder dimensions as them and only slightly smaller than the pacifics. giving Henry a big wide firebox matches the illustrations, it matches the tvs model, but… it's also explicitly the problem with Henry. so like. it's difficult to really figure out a realistic answer to what's wrong with Henry's design that would be fixed by better coal.